[council] Protecting Trademark Rights in New gTLDs: Selection of Trademark Clearinghouse Service Providers

[Glen de Saint Géry <Glen@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-3-01jun12-en.htm
Protecting Trademark Rights in New gTLDs: Selection of Trademark Clearinghouse 
Service Providers
1 June 2012

ICANN is pleased to announce that it is working with 
Deloitte<http://www.deloitte.com/> and IBM<http://www.ibm.com/> on 
implementation of Trademark Clearinghouse services.

The Trademark Clearinghouse will function as an information repository, 
offering authentication and validation services for trademark data. Trademark 
holders and gTLD registry operators will rely on the Clearinghouse to support 
rights protection mechanisms for the new gTLD space. The Clearinghouse is 
designed to be available globally, with capabilities for validating trademark 
data from multiple global regions.

In accordance with the direction set by the community, the authentication and 
database administration functions of the Clearinghouse are separated. Upon the 
anticipated execution of final agreement(s), Deloitte Enterprise Risk Services 
(a department of Deloitte Bedrijfsrevisoren BV ovve CVBA) will serve as the 
authenticator/validator service provider, and IBM [International Business 
Machines of Belgium sprl / bvba] will provide technical database administration 
services. Both Parties will subcontract IPClearingHouse BVBA (aka CHIP) in 
order to facilitate theses services.

Both providers are highly qualified, with significant experience, technical 
capacity, and proven ability to manage and support processes.

About Deloitte: "Deloitte" is the brand under which her member firms offer a 
broad range of audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk and tax services to 
clients all over the world. In this respect, Deloitte's validation team has 
been provided the opportunity to manage several successful Sunrise validation 
processes for many ccTLDs and gTLDs, including but not limited to .ASIA, .TEL, 
.ME, .CO, .SO.

About IBM: IBM is an industry pioneer and has deep and broad experience. IBM 
knows how to play the role of a strategic partner - one that will bring 
industry thought leadership to the table and proactively contribute to 
customers' business and IT strategy. IBM has one of the largest global 
infrastructures, which has led to economies of scale that is passed on to its 
customers. IBM's excellent IT professionals and ability to leverage 
intellectual capital has led to one of the most respected groups of IT skills 
in the industry.

These service providers have been selected out of a process of consideration in 
accordance with the Request for 
Information<http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-5-03oct11-en.htm>
 issued 3 October 2011. Requirements for candidate service providers included: 
a demonstrated understanding of the issues concerning global intellectual 
property rights and the Internet, global capability to authenticate and 
validate trademark information, and experience designing, building, and 
operating secure transaction processing systems with 24/7/365 availability. 
ICANN has also sought candidates with a proven ability to manage and support 
processes in multiple languages, in addition to fulfillment of the technical 
requirements.

ICANN is currently working with Deloitte and IBM to build and prepare for 
operation of Trademark Clearinghouse services to support the new gTLDs. Both 
firms will take part in the public discussion refining technical and operating 
specifications.

Information about the Trademark Clearinghouse, including the current 
implementation model, and estimated fees, is available at 
http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/about/trademark-clearinghouse. This page is a new 
resource and will be updated on a regular basis to track progress toward launch 
of the Clearinghouse operations.


Glen de Saint Géry
GNSO Secretariat
gnso.secretariat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:gnso.secretariat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
http://gnso.icann.org